.Political Tidbits is the prestigious column of Belinda Olivares-Cunanan that ran for 25 continuous years in the op-ed page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the newspaper that she helped put up with its multi-awarded founder, the legendary Eugenia Duran-Apostol, in December 1985, just two months before the EDSA Revolution.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

How come our national leaders and stakeholders in Mindanao appear have been kept in the dark on Bangsamoro development? Nur Misuari vows to question negation of GRP's 1996 agreement with MNLF (ARMM) before the ICJ.

GRP Panel Chair Marvic Leonen

If the GRP panel vis-à-vis the
MILF does not watch out, the proposed framework agreement scheduled to be signed this Monday in Malacanang, with no less than the Malaysian PM as witness, could
get mired in the constitutional issue---just like what happened to its
predecessor, the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), which
was struck out as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in a tight 8-7 vote in
2008.

Fierce debate rages about the
constitutionality issue, with government panel chair and former UP Law dean Marvic
Leonen insisting that the “ministerial nature” of the proposed Bangsamoro is
allowed by the 1987 Constitution as a “sub-state” of the Republic. But Sen.
Miriam Defensor Santiago, a renowned constitutional expert who chairs the Senate committee on constitutional
amendments, argues that such ministerial function can only be carried out under
a parliamentary government and not the presidential sytem we have. Santiago
insists that there has to be a constitutional amendment, as the Bangsamoro will
only become a “dependent state” or a “non-sovereign state,” and not a "sub-state" which doesn't not exist in our present set-up. Without a constitutional amendment, she
foresees the SC voiding this framework agreement with the MILF.

XXX

MNLF Chair Nur Misuari

MNLF Chair Nur Misuari, who
prides himself as a political science graduate of the UP and former professor
there,has registered stiff protest
against this agreement with the MILF. He claims it will result in the negation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement
between the Philippine government in the Ramos era and the MNLF, that was forged with the approval of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference. Misuari vows to challenge this new agreement with the MILF before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Misuari readily agrees
with Miriam on the constitutionality issue, and in fact he tweets Leonen on where
he learned his law---“pareho naman tayong UP graduates.” Misuari, who has just
filed his certificate of candidacy for governor of ARMM, also warns that the
MNLF, far from being a spent force, could make things difficult in the South if
this new agreement is pushed.

Mention of constitutional
amendment, however, is anathema to President Aquino who obviously feels that the 1987
Charter is family property, having been drawn up in his mother’s time. His opposition
is also understandable, for once Congress authorizes a constitutional
convention or turns into a constituent assembly, there’s no telling where it could lead (a
shift to the parliamentary could even result in P-Noy disappearing from
view).

XXX

A lot of the current treacherous
shoals that the framework agreement with the MILF is running into could have
been avoided had there been wider consultation with the nation’s leaders and stakeholders. Leonen has been quoted as saying the agreement has undergone no less than 32
sessions of exploratory talks and 126 consultations on each of the points there. But from the seeming perplexity of our national leaders, these
talks appeared to be typically limited to the close Palace circle.

For instance, was the
National Security Council, the nation’s highest advisory and consultative body,
fully informed of the developments on the exploratory talks with the MILF on the Bangsamoro over the last two years---a subject that would change
the entire political landscape? But then, come to think of it, I don’t recall the NSC
being convened in the last 2 ½ years.

Rep. Al Francis Bichara

Were the Senate and the
House foreign relations committees closely informed about it? From the
way Sen. Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee and star candidate of the
LP coalition in 2013, sounds, she appears to have been kept out of the loop until
last Sunday’s announcement by the President---all she could do was to
acquiesce. On the other hand, Rep. Al Francis Bichara, the House foreign affairs
chair, our former ambassador to Lebanon and an NP ally of P-Noy, has not been
heard from on this issue.

Obviously, Sen. Miriam Santiago has not been consulted, and now prominent Mindanao leaders, including those from the lumads, are complaining that neither were they.

XXX

All patriotic Filipinos want
peace to descend on Mindanao, which has been wracked by
seething ideological turmoil and bloody wars in the past 40 years. But many of
our citizens also harbor fears and concerns which are valid and should be taken into
consideration by our leaders dealing with the MILF now.

For instance, there are
those deeply concerned that Bangsamoro, which this administration hopes to fully institutionalize by the time P-Noy exits in 2016, would be showered with enormous local
and foreign resources,in order to lift
the standards of this poorest region. According to the agreement Bangsamoro would get 75% of all tax collections and income from economic activities in that region---far more than the 40 percent other regions derive from similar sources. The problem is, what assurance is there that such enormous resources won't be squandered in the culture of corruption prevailing in Muslim Mindanao?

As some observers point out,
it’s no secret that corruption has been deep-seated among various Muslim
political families over the decades, and that elections have brought about only a
change of rulers, but the corruption would persist. The story of squandered
opportunities by MNLF Chief Misuari, handpicked by FVR as the first ARMM governor, and that
of the Ampatuan dynasty are too recent to be forgotten, they argue.

What will be done to address
this problem so as to bring about true transformation of the region? Would more autonomy bring about
change of values and better governance? Good questions.

XXX

A citizen emailed his concerns about the Shariah justice system in Bangsamoro: “By allowing and even fostering the
institutionalization of the Shariah justice system in what is now Philippine
territory, the national government will be under pressure to address demands of
Muslims who live in Manila and other big cities, to allow them to live by the
Shariah law. Thus, there will be two systems of justice in Ph---one
for 95% of the Filipinos and another for the Muslims. And there will be
increasing pressure to allow the large concentrations of Muslims in Manila,
Cebu and other metropolitan areas outside of ARMM and the eventual Bangsamoro to operate their own judicial
system under Shariah law.“

This citizen’s proposal: “Grant
the Muslims their independence and operate the new Bangsamoro state as a
protectorate of the Philippines. Establish a common market and a common
currency. But encourage Muslims who live in Manila, Cebu and other cities to
repatriate themselves and their families to this new state.”

This citizen'sfear actually stems from the fact that where over the decades Muslim Filipinos had been concentrated in what we knew then as “Muslim
Mindanao,” today they're found in virtually all provinces of the country---most of them industrious and thriving entrepreneurs. His
concern is how to apply the Shariah law in those areas outside of the
traditional enclaves.I can see the logic there.

About Bel Cunanan

Belinda Olivares-Cunanan is a veteran journalist with 25 years of experience writing a political column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. She is a Rotary Club of Manila Hall of Fame awardee for journalism. She has also received the Distinguished Alumna Award from her elementary and high school alma mater, the College of the Holy Spirit, and the Alumni Association Professional Award for Journalism from the University of the Philippines (UP).